1. Who were Panda Ethanol, Grove Street Investors, Grove Panda, and Cirracor? What were their roles in the case study? Be specific.
2. Discuss the pros and the cons of a reverse merger versus that of an initial public offering for taking a company public. Be specific.
3. Why did Panda Ethanol undertake a private equity placement totaling $90 million shortly before implementing the reverse merger?
4. Why did Panda not directly approach Cirracor with an offer? How were the Panda Grove investment holdings used to influence the outcome of the proposed merger?

In early 2007, Panda Ethanol, owner of ethanol plants in west Texas, decided to explore the possibility of taking its ethanol production business public to take advantage of the high valuations placed on ethanol-related companies in the public market at that time. The firm was confronted with the choice of taking the company public through an initial public offering or by combining with a publicly traded shell corporation through a reverse merger.